Thank you all for your responses. Sorry for the delay- my little one has been down with a nasty virus.
More info about our situation: My husband is in his mid-30s and I’m in my late 20s. There is not much more income potential at my husband’s current job. He is an EMT and for what he does he has the highest paying employer in the county. It is far from his dream job and though a career change into a field with more opportunity is possible (he does have a business degree) we know that if he were to do this it would be entry-level and there will be a pay-cut initially. This is another reason why we wouldn’t want to borrow more than 150k.
We don’t plan on having any more children and being in the best school district isn’t our top concern. Before having kids we decided we would homeschool-this decision still stands. So to answer your question barnaby, safety trumps schools. However, this doesn’t mean we want to completely ignore a prospective neighborhood’s school ratings as this seems to be somewhat telling of the community and an important factor for buyers should there come a day we sell. (Right? or are these rating over-emphasized?)
As far as my income potential, I will remain at home and be the primary one homeschooling.
How much we feel comfortable spending on monthly payments is pretty set in stone. We are not opposed to condo/townhouse living but it seems that many of the older communities have HOAs in the $300-$400s while newer ones have MR and sometimes 2 HOAs. Since HOAs only go up and not many cover more than landscaping and common grounds, it seems silly to not just borrow a little more to get into a detached house when what we would have to pay every month will end up being about the same.
We recently saw a few units in the Alicante community in San Miguel and we think it would be a great place for us. But the thought of one day having a paid off home yet still continuing to pay nearly $300 in HOAs and another $130 in MR plus property taxes doesn’t sit well. Maybe I’m being too demanding? Is this just the way of life now? Paying tyrant strangers to tell you what you can’t do so that you can store your stinky garbage in the garage of your tri-level home?
DIY skills: I’m the handy one between the two of us, but thats not saying much. I did help my dad and his business partner flip a couple houses back when I was in high school….but again thats not saying much. Not afraid to get my hands dirty but in the end we would hire a professional to re-do floors, bathrooms, the kitchen etc. Oddly enough it just so happens that one of the houses we flipped is on the market (and it looks like its been sitting.) http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-160002896-8840_Hammond_San_Diego_CA_92123
Location: A dream location for us would be along the “president streets” in La Mesa, off of Lemon & Glenn. But I know the houses in that specific neighborhood are above our means. There is currently a totally fixer on Jefferson for sale there but it would be way too much strain on our savings to spend another $100k just to make it habitable.
We are okay with Lakeside and we’re flirting with Ramona. If my husband stays at his current job, Ramona would be great (I think? I’ve actually never been but the people I know from Ramona love it there.) My husband works in Lakeside.
